For those of you who do not have the book, the essay "Of iPods and Dirty Underwear," can be found here.
What to Listen to Now: Is Having Eclectic Music the Norm? In James Rosen's "Of iPods and Dirty Underwear," Rosen argues that the advancement in technology has made music less personal because of its accessibility in this day in age, therefore driving people to collect music based on how they would like to appear. Rosen successfully supports his claim by giving his own personal experience, using a more conversational tone and satirical style, and through a deeper subliminal message, all of which addresses the changing society as a whole. He says that while we once were infatuated with books to give us a sense of popularity and knowledge, we now are using our musical selections to deem us to be cool or not (Rosen 533). iPods have increased in popularity since they have came about and Rosen uses an hyperbole of his own iPod which deems as being his companion. For such a compact, unimaginable device, Rosen's iPod contains over 4,336 songs that can play for 40 days straight without repeating (533). Society has recently entered this downloading frenzy in which they feel they must download every type of music and all popular bands in order to be seen as being popular.
Recently the new obsession, iPods, have been held highly by majority of our society. Many individuals love to compare and contrast playlists, as Rosen explains towards the middle of his satire. To become that eclectic person that everyone loves to know one must have a wide variety of genres on their iPod regardless of whether they actually enjoy the music. One having an eclectic music selection now-a-days is what people use to deem you to be "cool" in society, and that is one point Rosen successfully reveals. He begins with explaining the accumulation of his personal library of songs. Rosen says that his music collection seems to continuously be growing, under the notion that it "would be nice to have in there" (534). It is at this point that he realizes that he should have splurged the extra bit of cash to get the extra twenty gigabytes on his iPod. Rosen's plethora of songs creates a "massive overload" for him, which comes back to his blunt thesis of "so now what the hell should I listen to?" (534). Furthermore, because he has such a plethora of songs, artists, and genres the next question that comes up is "what would look cool on an Ipod?" (534). This experience allows Rosen to figure out the drive of society to have all this music; and that drive is eclecticism. Rosen admits that he is a victim of such, speaking of the several bands he has in his own little treasure, like the Beatles, Led Zep, Stevie Wonder, and so many more; however he does not even listen to half of them (535).
The satire that Rosen uses is over the idea of "fitting in," to be cool and reaching a level of eclecticism. First off, he sets the tone by introducing the essay with a sarcastic passage and story of the value placed on iPods. Using the terms like "modest 20-gigabyte" and "60 gig beast" help place a more relaxed tone into the opening passage (Rosen 533). Then he hits the heart of the essay with his thesis, using language that is more conversational, informal, and while it is a little crude at times, it is rather humorous. This tone helps the essay relate to others in an interesting way. The topic Rosen presents addresses society as a whole changing its stance on music, with the introduction of iPods and digitalized music. Since this involves everyone including Rosen himself, he tries to make the issue sound more universal, by relating to himself and generally speaking of society. For example, not only does he use the pronoun "I," but also "we" and "you," which helps the reader connect more to Rosen, in turn, relating more. Although, talking of all society, it is apparent that Rosen caters to a more mainstreamed audience. It is important to know that even though he is overall effective, there is a flaw that can be pointed out in his writing. This is his bias on genre of music. He seems to have great knowledge and understanding of popular music, and shows an affinity towards it, but his tone changes when he talks of classical music, this really shows that he addresses the more mainstream audience and that he doesn't please everyone.
Within Rosen's text about iPods and music lies a subliminal subtext. Rosen does talk about how individuals base their playlists off of what others want to see, but there is evidence of a deeper message behind this shallow direct topic. Society as a whole changed since technology has increased in our communities. It seems, however, that people have become so attached with these tiny devices that we call the iPod that without these little devices people do not know what to do with their spare time any longer. Rosen gave the example throughout the entire passage by asking what he should listen to or that he is just going to sit there twiddling his fingers until he can figure it out (533-535). Within Rosen talking about how others simply splurge their money on iPods, try to impress others by their playlists when they really don't even like some of the music, he also is describing today's society infatuation with consumerism and the after effect of wanting buy and have everything. Consumerism is part of the issue. The United States does benefit because of consumerism, but it also strongly impacts our citizens in other ways as well. It changes how the American citizens think, their interests, and their ambitions. This impact may not always be for the better. Rosen is implying that people are starting to do things or obtain items simply to give to a social status. He slips in several sentences that must be read in between the lines, which consist of his personal view of the nation.
Throughout the essay, Rosen pulls in the reader with his tone and proves a point in a blatant yet subtle and humorous way. He gets the point across that as technology continues to advance in music for the music world so does society and its reaction towards it. He also discusses that although a person may put thousands and thousands of songs on an iPod in order to give themselves the appearance that they think others want to see, though it is rare that anyone other than yourself actually gets to hear what you are listening too. This brings back the drive to be eclectic. Rosen also proves that instead of iPod users obtaining only the music that appeals to them that they try and please everyone with a product that is meant for their personal use, what may be the most important satirical theme. This makes the iPod a less personal piece of equipment, taking away the original intentions of an iPod, hence the "I" in the name. Technology is making the world a more public place. With its growth, people are consistently getting less privacy and personal space, an idea that Rosen makes great stress of. Work Cited Rosen, James. "Of IPods an Dirty Underwear." June 3, 2010. Writing in the Disciplines. Ed. Mary L. Kennedy and William J. Kennedy. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2012. 533-35. Print.
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For those of you who do not have the book, the essay "Of iPods and Dirty Underwear," can be found here.
What to Listen to Now: Is Having Eclectic Music the Norm?
In James Rosen's "Of iPods and Dirty Underwear," Rosen argues that the advancement in technology has made music less personal because of its accessibility in this day in age, therefore driving people to collect music based on how they would like to appear. Rosen successfully supports his claim by giving his own personal experience, using a more conversational tone and satirical style, and through a deeper subliminal message, all of which addresses the changing society as a whole. He says that while we once were infatuated with books to give us a sense of popularity and knowledge, we now are using our musical selections to deem us to be cool or not (Rosen 533). iPods have increased in popularity since they have came about and Rosen uses an hyperbole of his own iPod which deems as being his companion. For such a compact, unimaginable device, Rosen's iPod contains over 4,336 songs that can play for 40 days straight without repeating (533). Society has recently entered this downloading frenzy in which they feel they must download every type of music and all popular bands in order to be seen as being popular.
Recently the new obsession, iPods, have been held highly by majority of our society. Many individuals love to compare and contrast playlists, as Rosen explains towards the middle of his satire. To become that eclectic person that everyone loves to know one must have a wide variety of genres on their iPod regardless of whether they actually enjoy the music. One having an eclectic music selection now-a-days is what people use to deem you to be "cool" in society, and that is one point Rosen successfully reveals. He begins with explaining the accumulation of his personal library of songs. Rosen says that his music collection seems to continuously be growing, under the notion that it "would be nice to have in there" (534). It is at this point that he realizes that he should have splurged the extra bit of cash to get the extra twenty gigabytes on his iPod. Rosen's plethora of songs creates a "massive overload" for him, which comes back to his blunt thesis of "so now what the hell should I listen to?" (534). Furthermore, because he has such a plethora of songs, artists, and genres the next question that comes up is "what would look cool on an Ipod?" (534). This experience allows Rosen to figure out the drive of society to have all this music; and that drive is eclecticism. Rosen admits that he is a victim of such, speaking of the several bands he has in his own little treasure, like the Beatles, Led Zep, Stevie Wonder, and so many more; however he does not even listen to half of them (535).
The satire that Rosen uses is over the idea of "fitting in," to be cool and reaching a level of eclecticism. First off, he sets the tone by introducing the essay with a sarcastic passage and story of the value placed on iPods. Using the terms like "modest 20-gigabyte" and "60 gig beast" help place a more relaxed tone into the opening passage (Rosen 533). Then he hits the heart of the essay with his thesis, using language that is more conversational, informal, and while it is a little crude at times, it is rather humorous. This tone helps the essay relate to others in an interesting way. The topic Rosen presents addresses society as a whole changing its stance on music, with the introduction of iPods and digitalized music. Since this involves everyone including Rosen himself, he tries to make the issue sound more universal, by relating to himself and generally speaking of society. For example, not only does he use the pronoun "I," but also "we" and "you," which helps the reader connect more to Rosen, in turn, relating more. Although, talking of all society, it is apparent that Rosen caters to a more mainstreamed audience. It is important to know that even though he is overall effective, there is a flaw that can be pointed out in his writing. This is his bias on genre of music. He seems to have great knowledge and understanding of popular music, and shows an affinity towards it, but his tone changes when he talks of classical music, this really shows that he addresses the more mainstream audience and that he doesn't please everyone.
Within Rosen's text about iPods and music lies a subliminal subtext. Rosen does talk about how individuals base their playlists off of what others want to see, but there is evidence of a deeper message behind this shallow direct topic. Society as a whole changed since technology has increased in our communities. It seems, however, that people have become so attached with these tiny devices that we call the iPod that without these little devices people do not know what to do with their spare time any longer. Rosen gave the example throughout the entire passage by asking what he should listen to or that he is just going to sit there twiddling his fingers until he can figure it out (533-535). Within Rosen talking about how others simply splurge their money on iPods, try to impress others by their playlists when they really don't even like some of the music, he also is describing today's society infatuation with consumerism and the after effect of wanting buy and have everything. Consumerism is part of the issue. The United States does benefit because of consumerism, but it also strongly impacts our citizens in other ways as well. It changes how the American citizens think, their interests, and their ambitions. This impact may not always be for the better. Rosen is implying that people are starting to do things or obtain items simply to give to a social status. He slips in several sentences that must be read in between the lines, which consist of his personal view of the nation.
Throughout the essay, Rosen pulls in the reader with his tone and proves a point in a blatant yet subtle and humorous way. He gets the point across that as technology continues to advance in music for the music world so does society and its reaction towards it. He also discusses that although a person may put thousands and thousands of songs on an iPod in order to give themselves the appearance that they think others want to see, though it is rare that anyone other than yourself actually gets to hear what you are listening too. This brings back the drive to be eclectic. Rosen also proves that instead of iPod users obtaining only the music that appeals to them that they try and please everyone with a product that is meant for their personal use, what may be the most important satirical theme. This makes the iPod a less personal piece of equipment, taking away the original intentions of an iPod, hence the "I" in the name. Technology is making the world a more public place. With its growth, people are consistently getting less privacy and personal space, an idea that Rosen makes great stress of.
Work Cited
Rosen, James. "Of IPods an Dirty Underwear." June 3, 2010. Writing in the Disciplines. Ed. Mary L. Kennedy and William J. Kennedy. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2012. 533-35. Print.